DUNCAN ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARADE

Duncan’s Annual Christmas Parade was held on Saturday, December 12th. The event had its start at James F. Byrnes High School’s parking lot and it was filled with fire trucks, the Spartanburg Sheriffs Department, old “Hillbilly Clan” vehicles, students and band members, JROTC cadets, and many more volunteers and participants. The parade started at ten o’clock and lasted over an hour. The massive line of participants started walking from Byrnes through the town of Duncan. Duncan citizens and visitors lined the sides of the roads as the watch the incredible display of participants.

After the parade was over our cadets returned to BHS for some much needed refreshment!

TOP PERFORMERS

The "Top Performers" award is a Headquarters, AFJROTC award presented to a maximum of 2% of the cadet corps. Out of 400 cadets, 8 were presented with the "Top Performers" ribbon on 23 Nov. by Col. Wade H. Williford. These cadets received this award for their performance in the following key areas: Leadership and Job Performance, Leadership Qualities, Academic Performance, Significant Self-improvement, Community Involvement, and other Accomplishments. The following cadets were presented the award:

C/Col. Jennifer Johnson

C/Lt. Col. Joseph Rose

C/Maj. Bruce Chumley

C/Capt. Sarah Sill

C/CMSgt. Ashely Cross

C/CMSgt. Wesley Kennedy

C/SMSgt. Ernie Roy

C/TSgt. Ashton Peterson

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THESE CADETS!!

CONGRATULATIONS SC-932!!!

23 November 2009, SC-932 was visited by a very special guest. Col. Wade H. Williford came to James F. Byrnes to give SC-932 its External Inspection it must receive every 3 years. He spent all day inspecting our procedures, records, curriculum, and instructors. He also gave out Top Performer awards to the top 2% of the cadet corps. After meeting with many members of BHS and BFA staff, and many cadets in the corps, Col. Williford was ready to give feedback of his visit to the Administration.

EXCEEDED STANDARDS IN ALL CATEGORIES!

OUTSTANDING JOB SC-932!!

Playoff Football Extends Our Color Guard Season

The last two playoff games have been the exclamation point for our color guard. We used a five man color guard for the pregame adding class and style for our school. The comments from the fans for the flawless performance at the final home game verses Spartanburg was enormous.

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY to SC-932!!!!!

Congratulations to the newest Air Force Academy appointee. Cadet Col Jennifer Johnsen JUST received her letter of assurance. SC-932 Cadets are now 3-for-3 on appointments (can you say HAT TRICK). NICE!

Jenny's mother called with the news while she was in her Aviation Ground School Course--how appropriate.

SC-932 Receives Special Visitor

On November 23, 2009, James F Byrnes AFJROTC will proudly welcome Colonel Williford to our unit for our External Unit Assessment. Colonel Williford will be inspecting our flights, ground school, and special projects our unit has performed to help improve our community. Our cadets of many backgrounds, races and personalities have all come together to work for the same cause: Integrity First, Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do. The United States Air Force has provided us with the finest instructors to educate us not only in structured learning endeavors, but also life lessons. Our ASI’s include SMSgt Sparkman (former Flight Engineer for Air Force One), CMSgt Ippolito (former C-17/KC135 Schoolhouse Operations Group Superintendent), MSgt Outram (managed the Aerospace Medical Clinic at Columbus AFB, Mississippi.) The AFJROTC SASI, Colonel Keen has done an amazing job keeping the SC932 unit well maintained and operating at peek performance letting our unit grow. Our AFJROTC wing commander, Michael Gravel, will formally welcome Colonel Williford as he begins the External Assessment for SC-932. The assessment will be an intense undertaking by Colonel Williford as he inspects the entire unit and all the operations. The formal assessment will last the entire school day.

-C/1Lt Mojarro

Warbirds Honored--Cadets Presented Colors

The deep history of our war veterans was celebrated on Saturday night with an amazing ceremony. The Warbirds honored 3 heroes and had SC-932 start and end the event with our terrific color guard.

Golden Corral Veterans Day Celebration

Support of our nations veterans was on display at the Golden Corral. Our Cadets were out in full force putting the explanation point on the evening.

FOUR!!! Events for Veterans Day

A marathon of planning and performance from our Honors Flight and Special Teams. We performed Color Guards at Byrnes Freshman Academy, Abner Creek and Reidville Elementary schools and North American Rescue. The Day started with an outstanding Veterans Day tribute at BFA organized and orchestrated by the Honors Flight. We then performed two Color guards at District 5 Elementary school programs (Abner Creek and Reidville) were the venue was standing room only. To top off an amazing Veterans day we were invited to perform a Color Guard at the North American Rescue in Greenville for a "Care Under Fire" Monument Dedication Ceremony. When the upstate wants the BEST they call Byrnes.

Kings Mountain Orienteering Fun

A special thanks to Major Williams SASI at Pendleton High School for the teaming-up with Byrnes for an amazing orienteering outing. 52 cadets (11 teams) had the adventure of a life time tracking 14 flags through 3 different ground navigation courses. Prior to the 3-hour course Major Williams conducted a land navigation lesson; cadets were taught map and compass skills. After the competition we all loaded up the bus for a nutritious Beacon meal.

For those of you who are wondering; the winner ....was not Sparkmans group.

PERFECTION!!! Saber Team and Color Guard

Our Special Teams Cadets are absolutely the best. PERFECTION is the only word to describe the performance during Homecoming. The Saber Team also performed earlier in the day at the pep rally and homecoming parade. The Color Guard also performed in the parade and pregame.

New Shipment of SC-932 Sportwear

The unit is now stocked with all sizes of new hoodies, short shelve and the newly added long shelve apparel. Prices are at cost: Hoodies $25 Long Shelve shirts $20 Short Shelve $15

Our New Recruiting Video--Growing the Program

JROTC Teamed up with David Kalk to produce the first James F. Byrnes JROTC Middle School Recruiting Video. This is terrific!!!!!!!

Aviation Honors Course in Action

Local business owner shares hanger with our Aviation Honors students. The tour began with a tour of the GSP Tower tour observing the entire air field operation followed by an extensive hanger tour of four different privately owned aircraft. The hands on demonstrations were priceless to the success of the Honors Course allowing the honors students to apply their academically challenging course material. These students are the first group of students to take the Aviation Honors Course offered at Byrnes High School; we are one of less than 100 JROTC units to offer this course. Our future is bright!

New Pictures

The latest Pictures from the Wiliamsburg, VA trip are in, look for them in the sidebar for your viewing pleasure! More pictures will be added as they are received

BHS v. Spartanburg Color Guard

Notice the Freshman Color Guard Member.

Cadet Airman Shannon Henderson right rifle stepped in as color guard member during 9 Oct color guard performance. Cadet TSgt Kennedy took command of color guard with no notice, other team members Cadets Rochester and Nowak--all team members performed flawlessly!!!!!!

Car Show Experience

Cadets were able to spend four hours of our fun day at the Virginia Beach Car Show and then meet up with the whole group at Busch Gardens. Unbelievable trip; to bad it has to come to an end...trip photos coming.

Jamestown Fun

What a learning experience!!!!!

Williamsburg Virginia Trip

JROTC will be on an adventure 30 September through 4 October. Colonial Williamsburg Virginia the "beginnings" of the original thirteen colonies and reflections from the American Revolution era.

Trip Itinerary: Colonial Williamsburg Tour, Governor's Mansion, Spirit of Norfolk Dinner Cruise, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Victory Center, swimming pool fun, Busch Gardens.

Pictures will be good :)

Color Guard in Action

Color Guard in action during home game. Cadets: Captain Downs, 1 Lt Atkins, TSgt Kennedy and SSgt Hughes were outstanding in their performance.

September 11, 2009 Remembrance Ceremony held at James F. Brynes Freshmen Academy was a huge success. Expert planning by the Honors Flight showed, as the event was flawless! The James F. Byrnes High School Orchestra added a touch of class as we honored all the fallen Americans in remembrance of the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

Over 200 Cadets Fitted--Byrnes RECORD!

Thank you to our phenomenal Logistics Cadets and staff for fitting over 200 cadets. Our first uniform wear will be Wednesday, 2 September. This is an historical and incredible achievement at SC-932; no class of this size has ever been ready in less than three weeks into the school year.

LOGISTICS CADETS ARE AWESOME!!!!!

Chat

The chat will be taken down until I get a chance to work out a few bugs... Thank you!

Thank You

Thank you to all who helped at the James F. Byrnes registration. Your help was much appreciated.

2009-10 Cadet Wing Leadership Announcement

The school schedule will determine 1st and 2nd semester leadership.

Lt Col Keen selected the new cadet leaders on 30 June 2009 for our upcoming school year.

Cadet Wing Commander Col Jenny Johnsen
Cadet Wing Commander Col Emory Showalter

Cadet Vice Wing Commander Lt Col Michael Gravel
Cadet Vice Wing Commander Lt Col Trent Morgan

Cadet Officer Leadership School (COLS)—Newberry SC COLS

8-13 Jun 2009

What a great experience! SC-932 was invited to attend the Newberry COLS with basic cadet positions. We took 13 cadets and four instructors to the school and were immediately welcomed. This school was an amazing experience for our cadets and instructors—LEADERSHIP education was the mantra. COLS focused on cadet leadership, academics, and teamwork. Our cadets assimilated very well and SC-932 received several awards:

Outstanding Cadets: The male and female cadet with the highest total score was named the Outstanding Cadets of the leadership school and was awarded the Outstanding Cadet Medal and the AFJROTC Outstanding Cadet Ribbon.

The COLS Number One Cadet: Sarah Sill
Sarah will return as the 2010 COLS Cadet Group Commander (highest Cadet Leadership Position).

Flight Superior Performer: A cadet from each flight with the highest overall score was designated as the Superior Performer within their flight. The AFJROTC Superior Performance Ribbon was awarded to each of these cadets.

C-Flight Outstanding Cadet: Avery Jolly
E-Flight Outstanding Cadet: Caleb Cooke

Best Flight: The Flight with the highest overall score was named the Outstanding Flight of the Leadership School. Each member of the flight was awarded the AFJROTC Outstanding Flight Ribbon.

G-FlightSarah Sill
Timothy Waugh

Best in Individual Drill: The cadet who scores the highest in individual drill will receive the AFJROTC Drill Competition Ribbon and a trophy/plaque for Best in Individual Drill.

Drill Evaluation 1st Place: Sarah Sill
Drill Evaluation 2nd Place: Jennifer Lopez

AFJROTC Leadership School Ribbon: Each cadet who attended COLS will be awarded the AFJROTC Leadership School Ribbon and a Certificate of Completion.

Alonzo Atkins Alpha Flight
Bruce Chumley Delta Flight
Caleb Cooke Echo Flight
Ashley Cross Bravo Flight
John Deas Foxtrot Flight
Kendra Dunnaway Foxtrot Flight
Jade Kelley Delta Flight
Avery Jolly Charlie Flight
Wesley Kennedy Bravo Flight
Jennifer Lopez Alpha Flight
Aaron Pridemore Foxtrot Flight
Sarah Sill Golf Flight (Outstanding Flight) (Volleyball Champions)
Timothy Waugh Golf Flight (Outstanding Flight) (Volleyball Champions)

Storm Worriax attended the first two days; however an injury prevented completion of the school.

JROTC Says Goodbye to Mrs Heather Gordon

James F. Brynes High School says goodbye to one of AFJROTC's biggest suporters. Lt Col Keen and instructors presented Mrs Gordon with the newly designed flight guideon flag emblem. You will be missed!

Senior Scholars

April Anslow- Anderson University*

Hayes Barnett- Clemson University*, University of South Carolina, Presbyterian College

Kerry-Ellen Bishop- Lander University*

J.P. Bittner- Presbyterian College*

Joshua Casey- United States Air Force Academy*, The Citadel, and Clemson University

Tiffany Childress- Anderson University*

Aaron Cobb- The Citadel* and University of Georgia

Cameron Cooper- United States Air Force Academy*

Amber Gay- The University of South Carolina Upstate*

April Gay- Columbia College*

Thomas Holcomb- North Greenville University* and Boston Baptist College

Kerry Holliday- The University of South Carolina Upstate*

Kevin Holliday- Furman University*

Michael Lazaro- Coastal Carolina University*

Kristin Massetti- The University of South Carolina Columbia*

John Miller- Clemson University*

Christopher Millwood- The University of South Carolina Upstate*

Alaina Nickert- Converse College*

Steven Rutherford- Auburn University and College of Charleston, University of South Carolina*

Joshua Wright- Clemson University and The Citadel*

NOTE: *= College that the AFJROTC cadet has committed to attend.